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othcr month," referring, of coursc,
to the "big one" this July in Florida.
Tbe "Eiephant" Is
Still in Power
Richard Nixon remains the man to
beat for the White House in Novem–
ber. Chief rivals to Mr. Nixon within
the Republican party have been Con–
gressmen Pete McCloskcy of California
and Robert Ashbrook of Ohio. But
neither could be expected to accom–
plish much, other than to have per–
sonal views aired before the nation.
Will this year's winncr pick up and
succeed where predecessors have fal–
len short? Or is something needed
that lies beyood the capacity of mortal
man for today's weighty problems to
be solved? •
PLAIN TRUTH May 1972
(Comin11ed from page 40)
piness, everything that has been sought
in va in for so long?
The words of ex-President Lyndon
B. Johnson, a man that has lived the
overwhelming life of a Chief Execu–
tive, speak as eloquently and accurate–
ly as any: "...
1
reflected ... on how
inadequate any man is for the office of
the American Presidency. The magni–
tude of the job dwarfs every man that
aspires to it. Every man who occupies
the position has to strain to the ut–
most of his ability to
fill
it .... no liv–
ing mortal has cver possessed all the
required qualifications. It is not
a
question of the incumbents' wanting
to do the right thing.... No man ever
ruos for the Presidency on a platform
of doing
wron~
.... The enormous
challenge he faces ... is knowing what
is the right thing to do, for the com–
plexities of the problems are past
description."
(L.
B. Johnson,
The
V
antage Point,
pp. 565-566.)
Treatíog Effects, Not Causes
The best any govecnment has been
able to do is merely attempt to treat
day-to-day
effects
-
only waves on
the surface of thc pond. But the deep,
underlying
ra11ses
that
lead
to war,
sickness, poverty and eYerything else
people want so badly to overcome re–
main essentially unchecked.
It is one thing to
desi1·e
to end the
Vietnam war or any other war. But
hoUJ
to root out the
cause
of wars
or the
rattse
of poverty, selfishness,
sickness, ignorance or a hundred other
woes, continues to elude wodd leaders.
One of history's prime examples of
capable statesmanship, directed toward
the common good of all people, was
that of David, king of Israel during
the eleventh century B.C. King David
was obviously a naturalleader. But the
real key to David's success in office
was far removed from modern-day
"TV images," computer surveys, cam–
paign promises eogineered by profes–
sional staffs, and other necessities of
contemporary political life.
David was one of the few leaders
in the chronicles of history to really
understand and put into practice what
was needed before his nation could
truly enjoy what America's founding
fathers termed the blessings of "life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
This monarch's last words were
aimed at those who would take up the
mantle of leadership after him. David's
deeply wise, timeless admonition: "He
that rules over meo must be
jmt,
ruliog in the
fear
of God."
Davjd and the nation over which
he ruled were pointedly aware of the
existence of
a
God who was both their
Creator and the Supreme Ruler! Time
and man's own desires have today
largely obscured that knowledge. Many
oations, especially those of the "Chris–
tian" Western world, appear as God–
professing,
but are by no stretch of the
imagination
God-fearing.
The concept
of "One Nation Under God," of ac–
tual, literal
obedience
to an all -wise,
all-powerful divine Leader, might be
sentimentally popular with sorne. But
living
it, as nations in a world com–
munity, is quite anotber matter.
But this perspective, which is so
tragically missing today, is the very
heart and core of what separates man–
kind from everything good and right
that he wants! There
are answen
to
the gargantuan dilemmas that face us
today. But we have forgotten where
to
look
for them.
There is
110
leader in society to
lead
people to peace, because no man, by
himself, knows the
tt't1J'
to peace. But
that way is available and understand–
able. It is up to us to face up to it
and
accept
it, rather thao erect shallow
substitutes in its place.
The one workable "platform" avai l–
able to man today - if he were will–
ing to forego his pride, vanity and
selfishness- is for man to begin to
realize that God exists and that "Don't
trust anr man - trust God
!"
is the
answer you and I really need.
This is the very Message brought by
Jesus Christ. He announced the
world's only hope for ultimate peace
- the government and laws of God
Almighty - not those of meo.
That is
THE WAY
to peace. •
43